Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $3.17 Million Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975,652 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691,017 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,765,000 after buying an additional 695,317 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of WEC stock opened at $101.12 on Tuesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $102.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.